Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 83467 on Councillors: Disclosure and Barring Service, what steps would be taken if a councillor has a criminal record.

Where a councillor has been convicted of criminal offences and receives a jail sentence (whether suspended or not) of three months or more, they are disqualified from either standing for or holding office as a local authority member for a period of five years.

The Local Government (Disqualification) Act 2022 introduced a further disqualification of registered sex offenders who may not receive a custodial sentence.

Councillors must declare anything that might disqualify them from standing for or holding local office, not doing so is a criminal offence.